The amount of time for the filter to develop enough to eat all the ammonia
will be fairly short, probably less than 2 weeks. It is not until those
bacteria are producing the nitrites that the next group of bacteria can
start growing and they are slower to come up to speed. The time could be as
much as six weeks. The number of bacteria are determined by the amount of
food available, so once established, if you shock the pond with a large
influx of new fish, you will go through the cycle again. While going
through the cycle, monitor ammonia and nitrite levels. If the ammonia
starts to go high, use an ammonia binding chemical like Amquel, to
neutralize the ammonia to prevent burns to the gills. If the nitrites start
to go high, then you can add salt to neutralize the effect of the nitrites
on the fish.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
"Steve (Dart)" wrote in message
...
I just built a bio filter with veg on top and was wondering how long it
will
take for this bios stuff to grow in the filter?
How long until it is working at 100%?
Can the bio freeze solid or should I sink it?

I used pot scrubbies and cut up election signs (Canadian). The corrugated
plastic makes good medium with good water flow and surface area. All
crammed
into a 5 gal (imp) plastic flower pot. If I had a digicam I would have a
pic.
thanks